It Should Have Been Funny
by Iulia
Summary: [KuroTomo] It should have been funny, how different he was that day. But it wasn’t… not in the least bit.


_disclaimer: not mine_

_a/n: this is my first clamp fic... it's a kurotomo piece.. a bit angsty.. not sure if i got the characterizations correct.. oh well.. whatever.. hehe.. please review.. _

**It Should Have Been Funny**

It should have been funny… how different he was that day. We had arrived at a grand palace in what seemed like ancient Japan. He seemed to know the place like the back of his hand, as he didn't even wait to catch his breath before rushing through the corridors. We were trailing behind him, trying in vain to catch up but the thing is, that was the first time I've seen Kurogane run that fast. It was the first time I saw him look like… that… either. He was trying in vain to conceal his excitement, but it was written all over his face. We knew the reason for this sudden outburst. It was actually quite obvious. He would see his Tomoyo-hime again. And we knew how much seeing her meant to him. Hell, he practically kept us awake for nights on end because he kept on muttering about "his" princess in his sleep. In truth, I was really curious. I wanted to meet the girl who had the great ninja wrapped around her little finger.

When we finally caught up with him, we saw him being hindered by a bunch of guards. Kurogane, being himself, was throwing insult after insult at the hapless guards. He was even threatening to maim… take note: maim not kill… he was threatening to maim them if they didn't let him through. I would've chuckled had I not grown suspicious. I wondered why Kurogane didn't notice the looks on their faces… why he couldn't see that the guards were unafraid… that they were actually looking at him with pity. But I guess he was just always slightly dense.

Pity… he always hated being pitied. Yet that was also the look set on the face of the guard who had passed through the ranks of the other guards and made her way towards the still ranting ninja. Souma, I think was her name.

Upon seeing the grim… no, not grim… guilty… yes, guilty… upon seeing the guilty look on the young woman's face, Kurogane's ranting abruptly stopped, his eyes narrowed into slits. He was looking at her accusingly, his mouth set into a thin line. The woman looked away as she saw Kurogane's glare. She refused to meet his eyes thereafter, even as she stepped aside to let him pass.

Gone was the look of ill-concealed excitement on his face, only to be replaced by a look of great apprehension. It was almost as if he was afraid of knowing what was waiting for him behind the ornate door but was helpless against his own _need_ to know exactly what happened. His strides were long and purposeful as he entered the huge chamber. His mouth was still drawn into a thin and hard line. If I were to take a guess, I would say that he was gritting his teeth… he always did that when he was trying to control his emotions. We had followed him into the chamber, unwilling to let him face a potential problem on his own. Yes, such was our bond as our journey drew to and end. It had grown stronger than I would have ever dreamed of.

A small cough reverberated in the room… it was small… obviously suppressed… but it was enough to send Kurogane running to the edge of the bed.

"Tomoyo"

… that came out as a growl. He sounded angry, but we knew better.

"Hime"

… that one was a little bit choked, as if he was trying to hold back his tears.

"Kurogane"

… and with that, Kurogane closed the distance between him and the princess and crushed her small frame to his. The princess tentatively raised a hand, as if to reciprocate the hug, but she hesitated and her hand was left hanging in the air.

"Forget protocol Tomoyo, just this once…"

… another growl.

"Please…"

… a whimper.

And with that, the princess visibly relaxed. She obliged him with a hug and let her own emotions loose as she sobbed uninhibitedly on the ninja's shoulders. What followed was an incoherent string of phrases like "I miss you" and "What happened?" and "Damn You", all coming from Kurogane.

After several minutes of hushed confessions and abandoned sobbing and a "thank you for finally letting me be weak", the princess fell asleep on Kurogane's lap, utterly exhausted. The ninja had taken to stroking her long her, gazing at her lovingly.

It was then that the guard, Souma, entered the room.

Kurogane turned to look at her but she promptly looked away.

"Tubercolosis", she uttered, barely above a whisper.

We saw how Kurogane shut his eyes tight, trying in vain to stem the tears that were streaming down his cheeks, his breathing labored, his face contorted into a mask of pure agony… of complete and absolute loss. His free hand, the one that wasn't buried in the princesses' hair, was brought up to his face, his fingers pressing hard into his closed eyes. After that, he bowed his head, partially concealing his face.

Seeing him at his weakest moment, we suddenly felt out of place. We had never seen Kurogane look like this and we suddenly understood how deep his bond with the princess was. She was his purpose… and if she disappeared…

There was nothing we could do to ease his pain, we all knew that. Sakura had even started sobbing quietly on Syaoran's sleeve as he ushered her out of the room. He probably decided that Kurogane needed his privacy. And apparently, the guard, Souma, knew that too as she left the room after motioning to her subordinates. All of the guards in the room followed suit.

Taking one last look at Kurogane, I turned on my heel and left the room, Mokona trailing behind me.

It should have been funny, how different he was that day. But it wasn't… not in the least bit.


End file.
